Twitter Reactions: Leopards romp to the victory in a must-win game

Nangarhar Leopards have managed to keep their semi-final hopes well and truly alive with a resounding victory over the table toppers in the Afghanistan Premier League (APL). Their win has left the Knights with no option but to win their remaining two matches with a decent margin. The Balkh Legends couldn’t put their best foot forward on the day though the loss doesn’t make much difference to them.

They rested Chris Gayle and brought back Colin Munro into the side as Ryan Ten Doeschate and Ravi Bopara were also back. But after opting to bat first, they lost Dilshan Munaweera only in the second over by Naveen-ul-Haq. However, Darwish Rasooli took the attack to the opposition and added 43 runs along with the Kiwi Munro. The latter was dismissed for nine and even Rasooli was also sent back as the Legends were left reeling at 46/3.

The duo of Ten Doeschate and Bopara then rebuilt with a 48-run partnership in almost eight overs. Both of them got decent starts and failed to convert it into a big one. The wickets kept on falling for the table-toppers and they could eventually post only 133 runs on the board. The pitch was getting slower and it was their only hope to defend the total.

Fletcher powers Leopards to good start

Andre Fletcher, playing his first game of the tournament, probably vented his frustration out the way he batted. He took on every bowler that came his way and blasted his way to 48 off just 22 deliveries. Mohammad Nabi was in the firing line who went for 27 runs in a single over as the equation came down to less than run a ball inside the power play overs.

But there was a moment of madness from the Leopards’ batsmen as they lost four wickets in no time thanks to Qais Ahmad. They were sitting comfortably at 61/0 and were reduced to 83/4 to make things interesting. The duo of Shafiqullah Shafiq and Hashmatullah Shahidi played the patient game and stormed the weather for some time.

After getting their eyes in, both the batsmen played flamboyant strokes to take their team home with two overs to spare and kept their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals alive. While Shafiq remained unbeaten on 27, Shahidi scored 31 runs as their partnership helped the team pocket the much-needed victory.

Here’s how Twitterati reacted during the game:

– Gulbadin Naib shows off his biceps 💪 after getting a wicket.. #APL2018 ..
Once a bodybuilder, always a bodybuilder.

— Asif Khan (@mak_asif) October 17, 2018

Nangarhar Leopards chasing Balkh Legends 133/7 – going to be more competitive than it appears on this pitch and given Leopards bowled out for 126 & 110 in last two games #APL2018

— Rob Esteva (@robesteva) October 17, 2018

Well bowled @Team_Nangarhar great execution by all the bowlers specially @imnaveenulhaq
Should be an easy chase!#APLT20 #APL2018 @APLT20official @ACBofficials @HosayNzi @___safia @HadyaNoorzai @PashteenHasina

— Khan (@Khan_Tweets_) October 17, 2018

Finally Fazal Niazai given a chance, still no ibrahim zadran though 🙄🤷‍♂️#APLT20 #APL2018 @Team_Nangarhar @APLT20official @HosayNzi @HadyaNoorzai @PashteenHasina

— Khan (@Khan_Tweets_) October 17, 2018

Balkh Legends vs Nangarhar Leopards
NL – 134/4 (18 Overs) | Hashmatullah Shahidi – 31*(35), Shafiqullah Shafiq – 27*(17)#APLT20 pic.twitter.com/rFw0SSHg7F

— Afghanistan Premier League T20 (@APLT20official) October 17, 2018

Qais Ahmad in first 5 matches: 4 https://t.co/J2p85PwZYe finished his spell with 4-0-19-3 .Good to see another teenage leggie making impact in the game. #APLT20

— Dude from Phogatpur (@subedi_parjal) October 17, 2018

Johnson Charles in #APLT20 for Nangarhar team. 7 matches 127 runs Average 18.14 SR 123.30 with highest score of 43 . Strange to see team selectors sticking around him ahead of Andre Russell. Charles would be perfect replacement of Fletcher instead of Lamichhane in today's match.

— Dude from Phogatpur (@subedi_parjal) October 17, 2018

@APLT20 if the league held in India we can expect more crowd

— 🇦 🇷 🇺 🇳 (@arunn_ind) October 17, 2018

i love the way Gulbadin celebrate 😀#APLT20

— Mariam Jamali (@Mariam_Jamali) October 17, 2018

53 dots bowled by @Team_Nangarhar today. Balkh Legends finish at 133/7 in 20 overs. Excellent effort by the bowlers @imnaveenulhaq #APLT20 @ACBofficials @APLT20official

— Sports Bloods (@SportsBloods) October 17, 2018

Sandeep बिना मैदान उत्रिए पनि Nangarhar Leopards ले Balkh लाइ ६ विकेटले हराएको छ 😊✌

— hamronepalcricket.com (@hnc234) October 17, 2018